Note: In a career context, all numbers are restricted between 0 and 5. However, in a match context, the numbers are not restricted. For simplicity, we are changing the scale here in the report and expressing every Match Impact number as a percentage. The maximum percentage (100) is assigned to the highest impact player of the match. All other players in the match are scaled relative to him. Negative Match Impact indicates that not only did the player not contribute in the match, but he also had an adverse effect on his team’s chances.​​

Gujarat Lions sealed their playoff spot with a six-wicket win against Mumbai Indians, who were themselves fighting to stay in the tournament, in Kanpur on Saturday (21 May).

Suresh Raina emerged as the highest impact player of the match for the second IPL game in a row for his knock of 58 runs off 36 balls after coming in to bat at 0 for 1 . He successfully absorbed the pressure created by the early dismissal of Aaron Finch by scoring at a high Strike Rate Impact (scored his runs at a rate higher than the match norm). He also reinforced his status of being the highest Pressure Impact batsman in the entire Gujarat Lions squad with his last two knocks.

Interestingly, Raina was not the highest impact batsman of the match but he fulfilled the additional role of a captain and that meant he finished ahead of Nitish Rana on the Impact charts as a player. Rana scored 70 runs off 36 balls after Mumbai Indians were reduced to 45 for 3. Despite being under pressure ( Pressure Impact ), Rana managed to be the highest Strike Rate Impact batsman of the match.

Gujarat Lions were also helped by the all-round display of Dwayne Smith (37 not out off 23 balls; 2-37 off 4 overs) as he finished as the third-highest impact player of the match. Smith accounted for Guptill and Krunal Pandya with the ball before a change in batting position saw him break a rut of two consecutive failures with the bat in the tournament. He had failed in five of his last six matches as an opener prior to today’s knock from the number 5 position.

Dwayne Bravo was the highest impact bowler of the match. He picked up two crucial top/middle order wickets and was also very restrictive (2-22 in 4 overs).

Based on the performances of both the teams, Gujarat Lions had a 41% higher impact than Mumbai Indians in the match.

Six Mumbai Indians’ players failed in the match. In comparison, only four Gujarat Lions’ players failed in the match.